Kansas City Police Chief Rick Smith will skip a local Republican Party event after the mayor complained about apolitical appointees getting involved in partisan affairs.
Smith was scheduled to appear at the Jackson County Republican Committee’s Reagan-Lincoln Day dinner on April 17, along with former Gov. Eric Greitens and state Attorney General Eric Schmitt, who are both running for U.S. Senate, as well as Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the St. Louis pair who went viral for brandishing guns at protesters last summer.
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Smith was invited to be a guest of honor alongside the McCloskeys. The chief accepted the invitation in March but rescinded his acceptance on Thursday.
“I was invited, on behalf of the police department, to be recognized for its hard work during the summer of 2020,” Smith told the Kansas City Star. “It is becoming apparent that my attendance at the event would be a distraction. After careful consideration, I will respectfully decline the invitation to this event.”
After news of Smith’s participation became public, social media users raised concerns about his appearance at a political event. Mayor Quinton Lucas voiced objections generally but did not mention Smith by name.
“Never in Kansas City have I seen our apolitical appointees — be it a police chief, city manager, or fire chief — engage as featured guests/speakers in partisan political events or causes. The reasons not to do so are numerous and apparent. I would hope this does not change,” Lucas, who is a Democrat, said on Twitter.
Lucas added that enhancing community trust in police departments should be prioritized at the moment and encouraged his city’s department to maintain objectivity.
The mayor, who has been floated as a potential Democratic Senate candidate next year, later praised Smith’s decision to drop out of the event, saying he made the “correct choice.”
Smith’s department has come under fire for its response to protests in 2020, after the death of George Floyd last May. In one instance, a Kansas City police officer was charged with fourth-degree assault after a viral video showed him spraying a man and his teenage daughter with pepper spray at a demonstration.
The McCloskeys have been in the national spotlight after video showed the two pointing their firearms at protesters marching through their gated neighborhood. The couple was charged with unlawful use of a weapon in addition to evidence tampering. They pleaded not guilty to the felony charges, and Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has pledged to pardon the couple if they’re convicted.
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On Tuesday, the Missouri Supreme Court upheld a ruling from a circuit court judge removing St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner from the case against the McCloskeys.
Gardner was taken off the case after she had sent fundraising emails that were ruled by a judge to have vested too much of a personal interest in the matter, jeopardizing a fair trial.
